Hugo Viana

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hugo Miguel Ferriera Viana (pron. IPA: ['ugu vi'ɐnɐ]; born January 15, 1983 in Barcelos) is a Portuguese football player. He plays for Valencia CF. He is a playmaker who is well known for his playmaking skills, as well as his superb set-pieces.

He plays as a midfielder, both in a central attacking role and as a winger. Hugo Viana is left footed and is known for his set-pieces and most of all his passing. He started his career at Sporting Clube de Portugal where he won Young European Footballer of the Year, and was signed by Newcastle United for €12m. He played there for two seasons and then returned to Sporting on loan. At the start of the 2005-06 season he went to Valencia, again on loan. In March 2006, reports stated that Valencia had signed him on a permanent deal for £1.5m. [1]

During his first season in Valencia, he struggled to claim a first team spot, facing tough competition from the likes of David Albelda and Ruben Baraja, Quique Sanchez Flores' preferred duo. Still, Viana featured regularly, scoring some goals and displaying some flashes of his talent that allowed him to preserve his place in the national squad.

Sanchez Flores' dismissal suggested a change of fortunes for Hugo Viana, but in a bid to secure first team football, he decided to join CA Osasuna of the Spanish Primera Liga on loan. Unfortunately, a serious injury during pre-season forced him out for 4 months. As he recovered, he failed to make the breakthrough in an already established team. Relegated to the bench, another blank season has gone by for the once touted "next Rui Costa". Viana's inability to claim a place in a mediocre side such as Osasuna has come as a big surprise, defenders of Hugo claiming he's not had luck with the managers he's had, always played out of position or simply not given a chance, his adversaries seeing in Viana an overrated, lazy player.

The future looks bleak for the Portuguese playmaker, as time is running out: at 25, a player many deemed more valuable than the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Ricardo Quaresma is languishing on the bench.

However, Viana's undeniable quality might prompt a much needed resurrection, but where and when remains to be seen, his lacklustre season in Osasuna - finishing the season just 1 point above relegation - suggesting he might be off-loaded when he returns from his loan to Valencia CF during the summer's transfer market.

Viana made his debut in the national team on 14th November 2001, in the 5-1 win over Angola, in a friendly match. He was a non-playing squad member for Portugal at the 2002 World Cup and played for his country at the 2004 Olympics. He returned to the national squad after Euro 2004.

[edit] Honours

• Superliga (Portuguese Championship): 2001–02
• Portuguese Cup: 2001–02

[edit] External links

• player stats at www.lfp.es

v • d • e Portugal squad - 2002 FIFA World Cup 1 V. Baía • 2 J. Costa • 3 A. Xavier • 4 Caneira • 5 F. Couto • 6 P. Sousa • 7 Figo • 8 J. Pinto • 9 Pauleta • 10 Rui Costa • 11 S. Conceição • 12 H. Viana • 13 J. Andrade • 14 P. Barbosa • 15 Nélson • 16 Ricardo • 17 P. Bento • 18 Frechaut • 19 Capucho • 20 Petit • 21 Nuno Gomes • 22 Beto • 23 Rui Jorge • Coach: A. Oliveira

v • d • e Portugal squad - 2006 FIFA World Cup Fourth Place 1 Ricardo • 2 P. Ferreira • 3 Caneira • 4 R. Costa • 5 Meira • 6 Costinha • 7 Figo • 8 Petit • 9 Pauleta • 10 H. Viana • 11 Simão • 12 Quim • 13 Miguel • 14 N. Valente • 15 Boa Morte • 16 R. Carvalho • 17 C. Ronaldo • 18 Maniche • 19 Tiago • 20 Deco • 21 Nuno Gomes • 22 P. Santos • 23 H. Postiga • Coach: Scolari

This biographical article related to Portuguese football is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.